I was surprised when my dealer told me the front tires (Run Flat) on my 2010 Mini Cooper S Convertible need to be replaced after only 14,000 miles. They gave me a quote for around $700. Eventually after calling a half dozen tire dealers one of them gave me a better option. Replace all 4 tires with All Season Bridgestone Potenza RE960A/S Pole Position RFTs (see link below). For $1,000 I now have 4 new tires that are rated for up to 40,000 miles. The nicest surprise is that the tires offer much better traction, a softer ride and a quitter ride (with better gas mileage).

I had a recent test of the tire traction when there was a blizzard in Lake Tahoe that laid down 6 inches of snow in 4 hours. On the partially plowed roads (with Chain Controls in effect) I experience no slips or slides. They worked great.

One word of caution, these tires seem to be extremely popular with Mini and BMW owners and it took a lot of calls to find them (eventually had to have them shipped from LA).

The low mileage tire offerings for the Mini are obviously big money makers for the dealers as they don't even suggest that there are alternatives.

Potenza RE960A/S Pole Position RFT: Bridgestone Tires

 

I suggest that you call Tirerack the next time you need tires. Expert advice and good pricing.

 

I pulled my runflats for regular tires and never looked back